


Take A Chance, We're All In This Together

by TerrifiedSmol



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Abusive Past, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, CPTSD, Foster Care, M/M, Mental Illness, Oops that got awkward, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Trans Alexander Hamilton
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-10
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2018-08-21 18:07:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8255318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerrifiedSmol/pseuds/TerrifiedSmol
Summary: Alexander Hamilton is constantly being moved from one foster home to another, will this one last? Is he going to even like it there? What happens when he meets John, the most amazing boy he could ever imagine?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, hello, hello! Welcome to my second AO3 work. If you haven't read my first, I would greatly appreciate it! No pressure, though, it's nothing like this story.

Alexander was sitting in his last class of the day, staring at the clock and waiting for the bell to signal he could go home when there was a knock on the door. Through the window, he could see the face of his social worker, and he curses himself for getting thrown out of another home. This one made four in the last three months.

“Your mother would be ashamed of you,” he heard the voice in his head say. When his teacher opens the door for her, she flashes him a sad smile. The two talk for a moment before acknowledging him.

“Hamilton, it seems this is your last day here. Will you gather your things?” His teacher pauses for a moment before continuing, “Don’t give up on your studies, please. You are a very bright young man, and I expect to see you on the front page of the newspaper one day.” The class around them groans.

“I won’t, sir. Thank you for being such a great teacher, I hope our paths cross again, someday.” With that, Alexander picks up his bag and his stack of books, and heads for the door.

“Good riddance, Hamiltrash. Have fun in your new home,” a boy yells from the back of the class, making him stop in his tracks for a moment. Alex grits his teeth and tells himself not to turn around, not to let him win. With a nod from his social worker, he leaves the room.

“What did I do this time? I’ve been behaving,” Alex looks at the floor while the two walk back to her car. 

“You didn’t do anything, Alex. You know sometimes we just have to move kids, it isn’t because of anything you did,” she stops as she says it, and Alex turns to face her. 

“But I really liked this house! They were nice! This isn’t fair! Please…” She puts a hand on his shoulder and sighs. 

“You know I wish I didn’t have to move you. The house has too many kids in it, Alexander. I’m just as against moving kids that don’t need it as you are,” she says it quietly, trying not to make a scene. “Please, just try and make it work?” He hangs his head again at her words and nods.

“Don’t let Martha get moved again, she isn’t doing so great. Move me as many times as you want, but let her stay somewhere nice.” 

“I’ll try, but you know I can’t control other people’s cases. I’ll talk to her case worker.”

“Thank you... So, where am I going this time?” he says it without looking up.

“Not far, I promise. Let’s go get your things.” he nods and follows her to her car, a red SUV that he’s begun associating with failure.

“How is James? He hasn’t talked to me in a few months. Is he okay?” A look of sadness crosses her face.

“Alex… I… can we talk about this later? I would rather we be able to sit face to face.”

“Alright,” he says it defeatedly. The rest of the ride to the foster home he had been staying in was silent. 

When they reach the house, Alex runs ahead, throwing open the door and bolting up the stairs to the room he had been sharing with another foster boy. He pulls the bag with his name on it out of the closet, piling his few belongings in it before zipping it up. When he’s certain he has gotten all of his things, he runs down the hall to Martha’s room and knocks three times then pauses and knocks one more time. From behind the door, he hears a small shriek of “Alex!” before the small figure of Martha emerges from the room. She throws her arms around his neck and he hugs her tightly, dropping his bag. Once the two let go, Martha notices the bag on the floor next to him and tilts her head questioningly.

“Where are you going?” Alex smiles sadly at her.

“I’m being moved. I’ll be close by, I promise. Ms. Abby said she’s going to talk to your caseworker and see if she can keep you here. Is that okay? You like it here, don’t you?” Martha places her small hand on Alex’s shoulder and smiles at him.

“Will you come by and see me?”

“Of course, I will, Martha. I have to go now, but I’ll see you again soon.” Alex hugs her tight, trying to keep himself from crying. “Be good for them, yeah?” he asks once they pull away.

“I will.”

“Promise?” Alex holds out his pinky with a look of fake sternness.

“I promise!” Martha locks her own pinky with his and laughs. “You be good too!”

“Am I ever anything less?” He feigns offense, putting a hand to his chest. She laughs at him and pulls him in for another hug. “I really do have to go now, tell everyone I said goodbye for me.” The two pull away, and Alex picks his bag back up. “I love you, I’ll see you again soon.” As he walks back down the hallway he hears her say “I love you too.” Alex finds Ms. Abby in the kitchen, talking to the parents of the house.

“Ms. Abby?” he says it quietly, trying not to interrupt them. He waits in the doorway to be acknowledged.

“-he won’t be very far away.” When she turns around, she jumps, apparently not having heard him. “Christ, Alex, you can’t just go around frightening old women.” she puts a hand over her heart but cracks a smile. He smiles back at her.

“You aren’t old, don’t do that to yourself,” his voice is still just barely above a whisper. 

“You flatter me, now come on. Have you said goodbye to everyone?” Alex nods but moves to stand in front of the two people who had been taking care of him for the past few weeks.

“Thank you for taking care of me and being so kind when you didn’t have to,” he looks at the ground as he says it. He doesn’t expect the hug he receives, and it throws him off for a moment. Once he comes to his senses, he hugs them back. He is unsure of when he started crying, but he feels hot tears run down his face and internally scolds himself for being so weak. When they pull away, the mother of the house wipes his eyes gently.

“Hey, hey, it’s gonna be okay. You are always welcome to come over after school or on weekends. I know Martha and JJ are going to want to see you again. You have our numbers, if you need someone to talk to or if you’re in danger, don’t hesitate to call one of us,” she says it softly, and Alex actually kind of believes it. 

“Thank you. I’ll try to come back soon, tell JJ I’m sorry I missed her.” She nods and Alex turns back to face his caseworker. “I guess that’s it then, we can go now.” Ms. Abby nods sadly and says her goodbyes to the family before leading him back out to the red SUV. 

“It looks like it's going to rain tonight, huh?” Alex freezes at the words.  _ No. It can’t rain tonight. It can’t rain on the first day in a new house.  _ “Alex? Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?” He's pulled from his thoughts when she puts a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, Alex, it’s okay.”

“Do you really think it’s gonna rain?” Ms. Abby makes a face that Alex can only describe as confusion.

“Do you not want it to rain?” Alex hangs his head and gives it a tiny shake. She moves her hand from his shoulder to his cheek, wiping away a tear he hadn’t noticed fell.

“It’s gonna be okay, I promise. This house is really good, Alex. I’m sure you’re going to love it there.” He lifts his head to look at her, eyes wide and teary.

“Really? Are they nice? How many kids are there?” She smiles at him, rubbing his cheek with her thumb softly.

“There are three boys and two girls, you won’t be moved for overpopulation anytime soon. They’re all good kids, one of the boys is your age. John? I think that was his name. This is a nice family, I’m sure you will love it.” Alex nods to her and finishes the trek to the SUV. She laughs and follows him, getting in the driver’s seat and putting on her seat belt. Alex climbs in next to her and sets his bag on the floor by his feet. Ms. Abby clears her throat, causing Alex to look at her in confusion. “Seatbelt, Alexander.” he groans and puts it on, pulling it harshly over his body.

“Don’t call me Alexander, it makes me feel like a stranger,” he pouts and Ms. Abby puts her hand back on his shoulder.

“Fine, Alex, then. You have to wear your seatbelt.”

“But-”

“No. you have to wear it. Every time you get in the car, you have to wear it.”

“Fiiine,” he crosses his arms over his chest as he says it, fiddling with the edge of his plaid button down.

“I know how you feel, Alex.” His head whips around to face her so fast he thinks he may break his neck.

“What are you talking about?” He feels his lip starting to tremble and presses his mouth closed to stop it.

“Feeling helpless. Feeling like you don’t matter. Feeling like no one cares about you.” Alex can feel his eyes tearing up again and tears his gaze away from the woman. “I’m here to tell you that I care. You are not helpless and you do matter. I know it feels like no one cares, you get pushed around, moved from house to house like an object. I’ve been there. I was a foster kid too. Alex, I am so proud of you for making it so far.”

“Can we just go?” Alex hears his own voice crack and wills himself to stop crying, to not be such a baby. She nods and she starts the car heading in the direction of Alex’s new placement.


	2. Meet the Fosters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex is gonna meet the fam, and learn a few new things too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, faithful readers! This story won't have any kind of updating schedule, unfortunately, because I have a million and one things to do outside of writing, but I hope you stay and enjoy anyways! On with the show!

Alex isn’t sure what to expect as Ms. Abby drives him to the new house, so when they arrive at a large iron gate, he is a little more than surprised, to say the least. He is slightly relieved when the gate opens to a whole neighborhood, instead of a single house. Ms. Abby drives down the main street for six blocks before turning on a side street. Alex can feel his anxiety getting worse the closer they get to the house. _They’re going to hate you. They’re going to think you’re a freak, especially that John she was talking about. You’re not going to have any friends here._ _Keep your guard up._ Alex is pulled out of his thoughts when the car stops in front of a two-story, tan-brick house. He unbuckles his seatbelt with trembling fingers and opens his door. He grabs his bag and climbs out, standing on unsteady legs. Ms. Abby leads him to the front door and rings the doorbell. A few moments pass before a woman answers, swinging the door open beside her. She’s much taller than Alex, and he instinctively flinches back. Her eyes immediately widen. Upon further inspection, Alex sees that she has short black hair and dark skin, and a bright white smile that he can almost say is inviting.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. You must be Alexander, and you must Ms. Abby. I’m Sarah, Hugh is in the garage with John and Hercules. Come in, come in,” She gestures for them to come in after shaking both of their hands and leads them to a living room with two couches and two armchairs. “I’ll go get the boys, make yourself at home, there’s soda in the fridge and the remote to the T.V. is on that table. I’ll be right back.” Not knowing what else to do, Alex sits in the chair closest to the door, and Ms. Abby sits on the couch directly across from him. He busies himself with picking at a hole in his shirt, sitting in a way to make himself as small as possible.

“Alex,” Ms. Abby’s voice is soft but his head still shoots up as if she had yelled it. “Hey, it’s okay. I was just going to ask if you wanted to get a drink?” He shakes his head hesitantly. “Are you sure?” This time he nods a little more surely.

Just as she stands back up, Sarah turns the corner followed by two boys that look around Alex’s own age and a much older man he assumes is her husband. He is also very tall but that’s not what scares Alex, no, that’s the fact that he’s built like a tank. His shoulders are probably twice as wide as Alex’s, and his arms look like they’re as big around as his head. Aside from his terrifying build, he notices that his smile is similar to Sarah’s. His head is shaved, the skin slightly lighter than the rest of his dark skin. Alex tightens his grip on his shirt absentmindedly, shifting his gaze to the two boys behind him. One of them looked like the couple in front of him, with the same dark skin and black hair and inviting smile, and he assumed that he was their actual son. The other was much shorter with curly brown hair and as many freckles as there were stars in the sky. Suddenly, Alex feels the urge to trace every one of those freckles until he has mapped out every constellation on his body.

“-must be Alexander,” he’s all too aware that he’s missed everything that was just said to him and stares blankly at the man in front of him. “Alexander?”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to zone out. Please don’t hurt me,” the words tumble out of his mouth like an avalanche before he can stop them, and he clamps a  hand over his mouth when he realizes what he’s said. _They think you’re crazy. They probably want you even less now. Just wait until she leaves, they’ll have their hands all over you, just like all the others._ He feels himself starting to shake and wills himself to calm down, to act like a normal fucking human for ten minutes.

“Alexander, neither I nor my wife would ever even think about hurting you. It’s okay, I know getting moved around is hard. I’m Hugh, and this my son Hercules,” He gestures to the taller boy standing next to him, “and this is John, one of our foster sons,” the two boys give him a wave and a smile.

“I-I…” Alex chides himself for his words failing him, something that’s happened more and more since he came to America.

“Can I show you to your room?” It’s John that speaks this time, and Alex finds himself nodding quickly. John holds out a hand to him and he takes it, grabbing his bag with the other. He is lead up a flight of stairs and down a hallway until they reach a room near the end with a white door and grayish doorknob. “Welcome home, Alexander.” He pushes the door open gracefully and the sight Alex is met with makes him drop his bag and his jaw. The room is bright yellow with white trim. There’s a king sized bed against one wall and a desk opposite it, and a dresser with a mirror off to the side.

“Wh-”

“I know,” John smiles at him and gently pushes him into the room, picking up his bag from the ground. “Sit, sit.” Alex doesn’t know what else to do, so he sits on the edge of the bed. “I’m John, which you’ve already been told. I’ve been here for a year. My room is across the hall. The Mulligans are really great, they won’t hurt you, I promise. I know they look scary but they’re super nice and mellow.” The words pouring out of his new foster brother’s mouth don’t seem to fully sink in until John is setting his bag down in the closet and sitting next to him on the bed.

“Wait, you’ve been here for a year?!”

“Yeah, why?” his mouth quirks up in a curious smile and Alex tries to concentrate on his words.

“I haven’t been anywhere more than a month…” his smile quickly turns into a frown and.

“I’m sorry. They won’t kick you out, Alexander. They haven’t ever kicked anyone out, even though they’ve probably wanted to a few times with me-”

“Alex.”

“What?”

“Call me Alex, Alexander makes me feel like a stranger.” John’s smile returns, brighter than before, and Alex finds himself wanting nothing more than to see that smile forever. _Stop it. You know foster siblings aren’t allowed to date. Don’t do that to yourself._

“Okay, Alex, you don’t need to worry about that stuff here. They’re really good people.” Alex smiles back at him and is just about to open his mouth to say something when there’s a knock on the still-open door. Both of their heads turn to see who it is, and Alex is relieved to see it’s Ms. Abby.

“I have to go, Alex. Do you think you’ll be okay here?” Alex smiles and nods his head, and she smiles back at him. “You have my number if you need me, don’t forget to call Martha tomorrow, you know she’s gonna miss you. JJ too, you didn’t even say goodbye to her.”

“I will! Don’t forget to talk to her caseworker, she really likes it at the Ortiz’s.”

“I won’t. You be good, I’ll be back to check in next week.” Alex runs up to hug her goodbye and she returns it, smoothing the back of his hair. When they let go, she gives John a smile and tousles Alex’s hair before turning to leave. Once she’s out of earshot, John speaks again.

“Martha? That wouldn’t happen to be Martha Laurens, would it?” Alex cocks an eyebrow.

“Yeah, why? Do you know her too?” John chews on his thumbnail for a moment before answering.

“She’s my sister,” then everything seems to crash down around him.

“Wait a second. You’re Jack?!” He takes a second to compose himself again before continuing, “She talks about you a lot... She was in my last home.” and then, “She misses you.”

“I haven’t seen her since they took us away.” John’s eyes start to tear up, and Alex moves to sit back down next to him.

“Do you think you would be allowed to go see her with me?” John’s eyes plead with him.

“Could I?” Alex smiles at him.

“Of course!” John throws his arms around him and pulls him close, squeezing tightly.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Several moments pass before Alex even realizes what’s going on, but once he does, his face burns bright red. Then, all too quickly, John is pulling away. When the two separate, John kisses him on the cheek and excitedly runs from the room without another word. Alex sits there dumbfounded, the fingers of one hand brushing his cheek, until he’s called to dinner.

 

* * *

 

 

At dinner, Alex meets the rest of the kids in the house. There is, of course, John, who he finds out is two years older than him, about to age out of the system. There is Hercules, of course, who is the foster parents’ biological son and also two years older than him. Then there is Aaron, who is the same age as him. On the other side of the table there are two girls, one wearing a red sweater named Maria “Without an H,”  and another wearing a purple hoodie that looks about two sizes too big named Theodosia “Call me Theo.” He learns the Mulligans’- as he is told their last name is -also had another son, Hugh Jr., but he is off to college.

“So, Alexander, your caseworker told me you’re a senior? That’s mighty impressive, young man.” Hugh says with a smile.

“Yes, sir. I studied independently before I moved to America…” Alex slowly takes a drink from his glass of water, contemplating what to say next.

“You studied enough to skip two grades on your own?!” This time it was John who spoke up. Alex nods once, a little unsure if he was meant to be proud or embarrassed. “That’s amazing!”

“You think so? I didn’t have much else to do on the island. I was only allowed to work for the few months before I left, so I spent most of my time reading. It’s how I learned English, actually.”

“You speak another language, too?” These people sure were curious. He almost didn’t mind, though, they seemed like they were actually just impressed. Alex nods before answering.

“I speak Spanish, and French was my mother’s native tongue, she taught me before she…died…” _Abort, abort, abort. You fucked up. Not even a whole day._

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” the group of people said, nearly in unison. Alex looks down at his lap instead of meeting any of their gazes.

“I..” he swallows hard, trying to find the right words, “didn’t mean to say that…” He pushes himself out of his chair with shaky hands. “If you’ll excuse me,” he turns to leave-

“-My mom died too,” Alex whips back around when a hand falls on his wrist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! If you liked the story or want to point any grammar/spelling errors out to me, please do so in the comments or over on my [tumblr](hamilton4pres.tumblr.com)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex learns about how this house works.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY I ABANDONED THIS STORY I GOT SO DEPRESSED AND RAN OUT OF ANY KIND OF CREATIVE ENERGY FOR SO LONG I FORGOT I LOVED WRITING. I hope you like the new chapter anyway, and I promise I'm going to update again before another year passes.

“W-what?” John is holding his wrist loosely, a look of sadness passing over his face.

“My mom. She died too.”

“I-I’m sorry... Martha never told me what happened…” John’s hand drops and his head lowers, eyes cast toward the ground.

“It’s...not something we talk about. I just don’t want you to feel alone here. We all have our sob stories, it’s why we’re here. Don’t feel bad for telling yours.” The rest of the group pipes up in agreement and the two smile. Both of them sit back down, and the rest of the dinner passes without incidence.

Later that night, Alex returns to his room after exploring the rest of the house. He is just starting to pull out his notebook when there is a knock at his door. He sets the bag back in his closet, checks his clothes to make sure nothing about them has changed since he got there, and swings the door open. He is surprised when he finds it is not John as he expected, but Hercules, the wall of muscle, towering over him. He flinches back instinctively and the smile on the other boy’s face dims. 

“Apologies, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he says as he puts his hands in the air in mock surrender. “I came to see how you were settling in, is there anything I can get you?” Alex thinks for a second then doesn’t answer, just opens the door wider. Hercules takes the invitation and shuffles into the room slowly, listening as the door is shut behind him. 

“You are allowed to sit,” Alex says it with humour in his voice after watching him stand awkwardly for a few moments. Hercules laughs with him, pulling the chair under his desk out and gracefully plopping himself down on it.

“Did John tell you the house rules?” Alex shakes his head, and Herc laughs. “Figures, leave it to him to never do what’s important.” Both of them laugh this time, for a few moments. “Alright, there’s only a few. One, curfew is 2 a.m. My parents are pretty cool until you push them, so I would follow that one.”

“I don’t leave the house much generally, it will probably not be a problem.” Herc fixes a look at him he doesn’t quite understand, but he lets it go as he continues.

“Two, if you’re straight, no girls in your room with the door shut. That’s more of a thing for their safety than you getting in trouble. We don’t need any teenagers getting killed because someone is pregnant.”

“You don’t know, do you? I knew there had to be a reason everyone was being so nice. They didn’t tell you. Figures.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You don’t have to worry about me getting anyone pregnant. That would require me having a dick.”

“Hm. Okay, then no boys.” Herc looks at the door for a second and grins. “You can exempt me from that rule, I am merely your brother. Aaron and John count, only because they aren’t straight so they have the same rules applying here.” Alex feels the back of his neck flush.  _ John is gay. _ He nods.

“Wait, rewind, you don’t care that I’m trans?” His face takes up a look of disbelief when he realizes what just happened.

“No, and neither will anyone else. You may be the first trans kid to live here but you’re not the first different kid. In case you didn’t notice, we are a group of different kinds of people. We would never hate you for something you can’t control.”

“That’s...a first.”

“Then America has failed you, Alexander,” Herc reaches out, offering his hand in conciliation. Alex takes it, slightly comforted by the warmth of it.

“Alex. It’s Alex. Alexander is for strangers.” Hercules smiles and squeezes his hand.

“Okay, Alex, three, everyone eats breakfast, at the very least. We encourage everyone to also eat dinner, but that can be a subject of discrepancy because of schoolwork and after-school activities and having a life. And four, the last person to get coffee makes a new pot or turns it off, depending on how late in the day it is. That’s it, you can do pretty much anything else you want.”

“This is the laxest place I have ever lived, and I haven’t even lived here yet,” there is uncertainty in his voice and he hopes the other boy doesn’t hear it. He gets his answer by a squeeze of his hand.

“Alex...I know you’re worried. But I promise, my parents are very cool. They don’t push and as long as you are safe, they don’t usually care what you do. You aren’t getting kicked out of here.” Alex looks at Herc with wide eyes. “Oh, Lord, you didn’t think you were the first scared foster kid I’ve seen, did you?” 

“No...no that’s not what I thought I just…” 

“I know. Just remember, you’re safe here.” Alex nods and drops his hand. “I’ll leave you to settle in. you know where the bathroom is, yeah?” Alex nods again, and Herc stands, ready to leave. 

“Uh...Thanks. For coming in here, I mean.”

“Mhm ‘course, I’m just down the hall if you need me.” Alex nods one more time before Herc turns and leaves, closing the door behind himself.

“Now if I can only keep it from storming…” he rubs his face then pulls his hair back into a ponytail.  _ You can do this. You just gotta distract yourself. Yeah, you can do that. Think, think, think. Blanket nest, notebook, lights off. _ He pulls the blanket back on his bed, curling it around and snatches his notebook and pen from his bag. On his way back to the bed, he turns the light off. He gets comfortable, cracking his notebook open to the last page he wrote on. He writes using the light from the little nightlight on the other side of the room until he sees sunlight peeking through his curtains and he realizes he wrote through the night. 

“Well, I guess it worked…” He pulls himself out of the bed and slinks into the bathroom at the end of the hall. He scrutinizes his appearance, zeroing in on his bloodshot eyes and the paleness of his skin. 

_ You look like shit. Everyone is going to know you didn’t sleep at all, then they’ll know all about how weird you are.  _ He decides to take a shower and searches for a towel in the many cabinets lining the wall, eventually finding a stack behind the sixth door he opened. Alex pulls the top towel out and lays it on the counter, turning the hot water in the shower on. While he waits, he strips off his worn clothes and haphazardly folds them, placing them on the countertop. Once the water heats up, he steps in, finding the water hotter than he expected. A yelp escapes his throat at the scalding, and he jumps back, away from the stream of water. 

“You idiot..” Just as he is turning the cold water on to cool it, there’s a knock on the door.

“Alex? Is that you?” The voice was muffled, but he could tell it was John.

“Um. Yeah. Yeah, it’s me. Did you need in here?”

“I heard the water turn on, you know what time it is, right?” Alex thinks for a second, realizing that no, he doesn’t know what time it is.

“Actually, no I don’t.” He hears a laugh from the other side of the door.

“It’s 5 in the morning, why the hell are you awake?” There is a long pause while Alex decides what to tell him.

“Couldn’t sleep.” There’s a sigh.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Alex contemplates the question for a moment.

“The door is unlocked.” He had never been so grateful for an opaque shower curtain in his life. There is a moment of hesitation before the door opens, and John steps into the room, closing the door behind himself.  _ He’s breaking the rules for you. You asked him to break the rules. You fucking idiot, he’s gonna get in trouble because of you.  _

“Okay, please explain to me why you are showering at 5 am, Alex.” he finally steps under the water, getting his hair wet.

“You’ll learn very soon that I do a lot of things that don’t make a lot of sense,” He runs a hand over his face, forcing the water off his skin as he steps back out from the water. 

“The blue bottle is mine, you can use that.” Alex looks at the shelf, searching for the bottle in question. He finds it quickly, popping the cap open and pouring a bit in his hand. He notices it smells like coconut as he lathers it into his hair.

“Thank you,” he hears his own voice shake and urges himself to get it together.  _ He can’t see you. He doesn’t know.  _ And then,  _ you’re going to smell like him now.  _ He puts his head back under the spray to wash it out.

“You’re welcome. Five in the morning though? Really? What kind of teenager are you?” Alex’s eyes snap open. He knew he wasn’t a normal teenager, but having it commented on was always a bit daunting. 

“Well, you tell me. I spent the night writing. I saw the sun come up and came in here. Now here we are. So, John Laurens, what kind of teenager am I?” There is a moment of nothing but the shower spray, and Alex worries he scared him off.

“Determined.”

“What?”

“You sound like a determined teenager.”

Alex’s heart skips a beat as he processes the statement. He hadn’t been expecting a compliment. “Th-thank you. I… I honestly just don’t sleep well…”  _ Why are you telling him your secrets? You don’t know if you can trust him yet.  _ “You know, new house and everything, I mean.”

“Yeah, I understand. It’s not easy. I can only imagine what it’s like to be moved so many times. Can I ask how many houses you’ve been in?” Alex finishes washing the shampoo out of his hair and moves back out of the water.

“How many total or what?” He hated to admit he had gotten himself into trouble so many times.

“Yeah, total.” he silently counted through them in his head.

“Twenty-six. How many have you been in?” Alex heard something hit the ground on the other side of the curtain. “What was that? You okay?”

“Just a bottle, you’ve been in twenty-six houses?! How long have you been in the system?” Alex felt his stomach drop at the question. He couldn’t escape judgment this time.

“Two years…” He was put in the system nearly as soon as he got to America, he didn’t know much else here. He hears a sharp gasp and sighs. “I know. I really don’t need another person judging me.”

“No no I’m not judging you… I’m just a little bit shocked you’ve had to deal with that. I’ve only been in three homes.” Oh god, how he envied that phrase.  _ If you weren’t such a fuck up you might be able to say the same. _ He shakes his head to clear away the thought.

“Parents don’t like me.” He tries to keep himself from crying and takes a deep breath.

“I can’t imagine why. You seem like an amazing person to me, granted you are still showering at five in the goddamn morning.” he hears John laugh and it forces a giggle out of him.

“I get in a lot of trouble. People like to fight me.”  _ Don’t you dare tell him why people constantly try to kill you, you fuckhead. He doesn’t need to know. You can’t reveal yourself that easily.  _

“That sounds familiar. People like to fight me too.”  _ Not for even close to the same reasons.  _

“Racist assholes, am I right?” He tries to play it off, pretends the only reason there could be to hate him was the color of his skin.

“You’re right.” Another laugh almost makes him forget what he was thinking about. He turns the water off and sticks his hand out the side of the curtain.

“Could you hand me my towel?”

“Oh, sure, here,” he feels the towel on his fingertips and pulls it into the shower.  _ Great job, genius, how are you going to get out of here without him being suspicious?  _ “I’ll let you go dry off and get dressed. You know where to find me if you want to keep talking.” he sighed in relief as he realized he was worrying about nothing.

“Yeah, I might just take you up on that.” he heard the door open and close again before he pulled the shower curtain back and stepped out.  _ What are you doing, Alex? _

**Author's Note:**

> Poor Alex, he didn't ask for this. If you've read this far, let me know what you think over at my Tumblr! I am @hamilton4pres


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